Thursday, March 28, 2013

I love the smell of fresh wood -- especially pine. I love the dark lines and the small knots on planks of wood. I also love the fact that I now have a keyboard tray on my desk! Thank you so much honey -- you have no idea just how much it's appreciated!!! **batting eye lashes**

Okay, so umm ... where was I? Oh right, keyboard tray.

We were given a desk several, several years ago. It's not ancient, but it's definitely 5 years old, or older. While we were in England a friend was leaving country and did not want to take the desk with her, so she gave it to us ... for FREE! Who does NOT like free stuff raise your hand .... exactly! Free, especially in great working order is amazing! We agree with each other, right? **smiles and nods**

This desk has been without a keyboard tray for as long as we have had it. I do not know what happened to it prior to us receiving the desk and I really don't care because the desk is in GREAT shape, overall! It is definitely my most favoritest desk in all the land ... that I've owned. Not that I've owned land, but desks -- I've owned plenty of them. Okay, this is NOT a fairy-tale, must stay focused! :)

Anywho .........

I was contemplating on throwing out the desk and buying a new one. However, when I checked prices of desks that were of good sturdy quality (must be sturdy because we move around too much), the sturdy desks were just too pricey. Would you agree? That is when I decided to tell my husband that I was going to look to see how to make a keyboard tray, which also meant I would have to look up how to use a circular saw. My husband took it upon himself and did the tray for me. It was finished within one hour! He's such a handyman ... a jack of all trades ... except his name isn't Jack. Ha!

Oh-why-oh-why did we wait so long to create this keyboard tray? Not sure of the answer to that one, but I'm oh-so-glad that we have one!

Well, here is a picture of the keyboard tray attached to the desk .....

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH HONEY! YOU'RE AMAZING!Don't mind the opened text book and notebook ... that's my collegemath work I am supposed to be working on, instead of writing thisblog ... but talking with all of you is a whole lot more FUN!

One of my projects after our move ... unless I decide to get all crazy in the next two months is to sand the desk down and refinish it in either

My person favorite is the Java. Maybe partially because I like all things coffee, even in color, but also because I really like the dark, rich colors of paints and stains. There's something so very warm and inviting about that those colors.

Do you have any projects you want to work on or are working on? Please do share! DIY is so much fun when we get to share the accomplishment or project with others!

One more thing I just realized ... both of the stain choices that I have decided on either deal with drink or food. Hmm.... or is it Mmmmm!

Monday, March 25, 2013

I have been trying to venture out and try new foods in hopes that I will not get bored with this healthy eating and weight-loss endeavor I am on. One of my quick go-to foods for breakfast is Greek yogurt. Only thing is that it cannot be eaten plain because I do NOT like the taste. I love sweet foods! Seriously, I compare myself to Buddy from Elf. He eats syrup on everything. What a great concept! Just kidding. Sort of.

I do love things with a sweet and salty taste and don't like things to taste too mushy like baby food, either.

**Here is a little bit of blast from the past: When I was 18 years old, I would eat baby food at times to keep my weight down. How silly! I pray my daughter does not have self esteem and self identity issues. I pray that she knows exactly how much she is worth in GOD's eyes and how much she means to HIM!**

Anyway, this morning I went to my go-to food: Greek yogurt. This time it is a plain Greek yogurt (typically it is a vanilla Greek yogurt) from Dannon. This morning I ventured away from my homemade fruit compote and tried something new: a cookie dough dessert with Greek yogurt. You will see in my food posts that if I share a link about the recipe more thank likely you will also get to hear how I changed it to suit mine and/or my family's tastes.

Yummy breakfast to go along with my math work. :)

Here's what I did differently with this recipe:

one extra tablespoon of mini chocolate chips

10 whole almonds that I coarsely chopped

one tablespoon of amber agave nectar.

Is there anything I would do differently? Tomorrow I will try it without the chocolate chips. I want to keep my foods as close to wholesome as possible. I will provide an update here whether or not the removal of the mini chocolate chips left me desiring for them to be reinstated.

What are your typical go-to foods for breakfast?

**UPDATE: So, I tried the yogurt without the chocolate chips. One bite and I was wanting the chocolate chips in it. I also didn't realize that when I originally made it, the recipe called for vanilla and I didn't put it in there. So, again, I'll remove the vanilla and omit the chocolate chips just to see if it makes a difference. Hope you've been able to try this yummy concoction!**

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Our oldest son started playing tackle football for the first time almost three weeks ago. Hold on, let me catch my breath! Okay, I'm over it. Seriously, I was so nervous at first. Now, not so much. Andrew is a very timid young man. To be honest, I don't know if he has a mean bone in his body -- at least he's never displayed it. But, it was his choice and request to play tackle football.

Here we are $350 later still waiting for him to get up enough courage to tackle and/or be tackled many, many times. He has been using many reasons as to why he is not good enough. Boy oh boy! These last few weeks sure have hit home for me as a mama, a wife, and a human being.

Not good enough?! YES. YOU. ARE. Andrew, God made you good enough. He didn't make you half way. He made you completely perfect, in HIS image! Gracious! There are so many lessons we are learning in this time of tackle football.

Today, as I was cleaning the kitchen up after doing some baking, a song popped into my head (see below). It isn't a Christian song, so forgive me on that. Yes, we do still listen to Country Music within reason. Before I finished up the kids' lunch, Andrew and I did some blocking in our living room. We would get into position and he would put his hands on my shoulders to try and push me back. He couldn't. Yes, I could have let up, but remember he's playing tackle football -- not flag football. People aren't going to care about taking it easy on him. Why should I? I want him to get ready and be prepared for tonight's practice. There were a few things that I showed him with footing and digging those cleats into the ground as though they've just been staked to the spot he's in. I told him to dig deep and push the other guy back. By the last "play" him and I did he was getting it. I could tell. It was awesome! :) I kept telling him, "Don't let me push you! Don't let me push! Push me back Andrew! That's it! Push! Dig deeper, buddy!" As I progressed in saying these things, there's more excitement, determination, strength in my voice. When it clicked, it was a pretty neat thing to see on his face!!

Andrew and I talked about how he must get "mean" to play tackle football. He did reply with "I can't." And I told him, "Yes you CAN. It's okay to do it with this sport. It's a game. You're not going out there to intentionally hurt someone." We talked about how if he can't push back and can't tackle someone, then he WILL get pushed around and stepped on. It was a good opportunity to show him how to tackle football is similar to life.

Life is like punching bags and door mats.

I shared with him that he must push back and must tackle someone. That's the sport! Other players are NOT going to care about him enough not to push him around and push him to the ground. I told him that he is not someone's punching bag or door mat for someone's cleat. Of course he laughed and I giggled, but I told him that in all seriousness that's how it is in real life.

We talked about fear and how in football he cannot show fear on his face to his opponent. The opponent will use that to his advantage. It's the same way in life: Satan wants us to be held captive by fear. God says that He is not the one that gave us the spirit of fear, but He gave us POWER, love, and self control (sound mind) (2 Timothy 1:7). No matter what is going on, fear is NOT from God. I told Andrew when he gets tired, he must dig deeper to keep going until the game is over. That he is not to back down to anyone that comes up against him, to push back, don't look behind him, stay forward, and push full speed ahead.

We talked about how offense and defense are a unit, not separate from each other. Each has a purpose -- offense scores points and defense stops the other team from scoring points. There is no separation. The primary goal is to win -- as a TEAM! To come out as number one! Scripture tells us that here in this life those who want to be the greatest will be last later and those who are last now will be first then (Matthew 19:30). This scripture is not about the sport of football, rather about our attitude, pride, and arrogance. I told him that he is not to have a high minded sense about himself where he becomes arrogant and thinks "I'm better than you" or "We're better than you".

Anyway, Jason Aldean's song "The Only Way I Know" is what came to me to share with Andrew. Here is the chorus portion:

That's the only way I know

Don't stop 'til everything's gone

Straight ahead never turn 'round

Don't back up don't back down

Full throttle wide open

You get tired and you don't show it

Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more

That's the only way I know

I leave you with this:

There will be people who come into our lives, whether friends, foes, or strangers, who will try to push us around, try to knock us to the ground, and step all over us. That must not be so. We are children of God and HE IS the Commander in life. There will be battles (situations) that we must endure, but GOD is the one that will fight for you, as long as you remain still and trust him (Exodus 14:14, Jeremiah 1:19, Deuteronomy 20:4, Ephesians 6:11-14, James 4:7). Not still as in doing nothing. But still as in TRUSTING HIM to overcome that thing, situation, or opponent.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Wow! Has it really been about 6 months since I last did a blog post?! Time has flown by and I have surely missed writing.

Speaking of time, it is time to change that. I am back and it is time to dance. I will not promise any more daily and weekly posts, but I will promise a blog post at least once a week. The post may be a menu or new recipe item in our home, stories of faith and love and Jesus, struggles and how to cope, stories by friends, our kids, or maybe a word from my husband (MAYBE being the keyword). The post could possibly even include our travels as we are in the process of setting up, yet again, another move cross country.

My goal for these blog posts are to leave you encouraged, full of faith, and wanting you to dance along with us as we walk, run, dance, and drive-thru life.

Before I go, sometimes we are not prepared to get wet, but it is the attitude while we are in the rain (or storm) that matters. So are you are ready to dance? I am. You can go in your flip flops, tennis shoes, heels, or barefoot if you would like.

About Me

Hello Visitors ... THANK YOU for stopping by! Here's a little about me:
1. I'm a Jesus lovin' Christian.
2. A very proud Air Force wife, married to my best friend.
3. We have 3 beautiful blessings.
4. I'm a homeschool mom.
5. I enjoy reading, scrapbooking, gardening, spending time with the family and pretty much anything else. AND ... 6. GO STEELERS!!!